Terminal for pneumatic-despatch circuits.



c. s. 'JENNINGS.

.TERMINAL FOR PNEUMATIC DESPATCH CIRCUITS.

APPLICATION FILED SEPT. 3. 1912.

Patented Nov. 2, 1915.

[IVVEN T OI?.

WITNESSES:

CHESTER S. JENNINGS, 0F BOSTON, MASSACI-IITSETTS, ASSIGNOR TO THE LAIVISON COM- PANY, (FORMERLY LAMSON CONSOLIDATED STORE SERVICE COMPANY,) 0F BOSTON, MASSACHUSETTS, A CORPORATION AOF NEW' JERSEY.

TERMINAL FOR PNEUMATIC-DESPATCH CIRCITS.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Nov. 2, 1915.

Application filed September 3, 1912. Serial No. 718,176.

To all whom t may concern.'

Be it known that I, CHESTER S. JENNiNGs, of, Boston, in the county of Suffolk and State of Massachusetts, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Terminals for Pneumatic-Despatch Circuits, of which the following is a specication.

This invention relates to pneumatic despatch tube apparatus and more particularly to a tube despatch system comprising a plurality of tubes, each of which ultimately eX- hausts into a common conduit, or receptacle, said tubes being provided with sending terminals or inlets which arel so operatively interconnected, that normally but a single one will be open to the atmosphere at a time..

The provision of means, therefore, to theV end that when one normally closed inlet is opened, the others which are opened, if there be any such, will automatically close, constitutes one of the objects of the present inven-- tion.l

Another Objectis to adapt said means for use in systems of thetype in question which are provided with time element mechanism for automatically closing an inlet whichhas been opened for, let us say, the introduction of a carrier, after the lapse of a substantially determined interval of time, whereby to economize power.

Theseand other objects 0f my invention will be hereinafter referred to and the novel elements and combinations of elements whereby they mayV be attained will be more particularly pointed out in the claims appended hereto. 'i A i l In the accompanying drawings, which constitute a part hereof, and in whichlike reference characters designate likefparts throughout the vseveral views, Ihave exemplified a preferred construction, but I am aware thatV various changes and modifications may be made therein without departing from the spirit of the invention, and hence, desire to be limited only by the scope of said claims.

Referring to the drawings: Figure 1 is a rear elevation of an apparatus embodying my invention, said apparatus in the present instance comprising two terminals disposed side by side.v Fig.V 2 is a vertical section of said apparatus taken on line II-*II of Fig.

1. Fig. 3 is a bottom view of the apparatusV shown in Fig. 1. Fig. 4 is a detailrpartially in section, the section being taken on-the line IV-f-IV of Fig..1. Fig. 5V isa detail longi tudinal section of the rock-shaft bushing and associated parts, hereinafter referred to.

As shown, the transmission tubes, designated 1, are provided with terminals 2, secured thereto in any suitable manner. The lower ends of these terminals are belled as at 3, to adapt them for the reception of the carrier, and these bell mouths are each provided with a closure, or door, 4. In the present instance, these closures are leather disks secured to plates 5; the latter having ears 6, to which are pivotally connected the door supporting arms 7. The connection between each arm 7, and its plate 5, is preferably a somewhat loose one, and to this end, the ears 6 should have journal openings somewhat larger in diameter than the cotter pins 8,v upon which they ride. Each arm 7 is hinged upon a rod 10, which, for convenience 0f construction, preferably extends transversely past a plurality of the casings 2,-

at the rear sides thereof; being mounted in ears 11, which project downwardly and rearwardly from said casings.

Straddling, the rear ends of the arms 7, and also pivotally mounted upon the rod 10, are weighted bifurcated arms 12. These preferably consist of sheet metal channels, which open downwardly; the web 12 of each channel being apertured as at 13, for the reception of a yoke 1 4, hereinafter referred to. Vithin each channel are secured metal blocks 15--16, which constitute weights which tend-to swing the arm 12, to which they are attached, downwardly into a position where its weight 15, may engage a lug 17, on the corresponding arm 7 so as to elevate the latter together with its door, and thereby cover the bell mouth 3. The yoke 14 aforesaid, is pivoted to the sides of the channeled arm 12, as at 18, and the horizontal portion 19 thereof is apertured to loosely receive a plunger rod 20, which depends from a piston 21, being connected thereto by a pin 22, or the like. This piston may comprise a center piece or head 23, through which pin 22 extends and around which is a packing ring 24. The upper end of the pisi ton head is flanged and washers 25 may be may be threaded into a cap 28, which latter is also attached to the tube 1, by a. split c ollar 29. Each cap 28 is also provided with means for connecting the hollow vinterior` lower part of the cap may `pass out thence directly into said main; the speed of its movement, however, being determined by the position of the valve 3G.

The cylinder 26 opens into a chamber 37 'in the .upper portion of the cap 28; said chamber being separated from the space 35v by a septum in which the upper extremity of thecylinder 26 is screwed. In this septum, to one side of said cylinder, is a port 38 which places the chamber 37 in connection -with space 3 5, when the valve 39 is raised.

This valve is mounted upon a stem or rod 40,v the upper extremity of which extends downwardly through the lower wall 42 of the cap, through a tube 43, which is secured in said wall, and through a( portion of the top of the terminal 2, into the interior of the latter. Loosely pivoted within this terminal is a light vane 44, of aluminum or the like, which, when the door, or cover 4 is opened, is drawn upwardly at an angle by the current of air flowing in to the tube.

When the vane 44 is in the position in which it is shown in Fig. 2, its weight, while light, is nevertheless, sutlicient, by reason of the leverage provided therefor,.to maintain the small bell crank 45 in the position indicated, while when the Vane is lifted by the inrush of air, the stem 40, which rests upon the short arm 46 of the bell crank, rotates the latter counter-clockwise until th'e valve 39 has seated itself and thereby closed port 38. The vane 44 is of course free to swing upwardly out of operative engagement with the bell crank 45; beingl mounted for oscillatory movement independent of the latter, save when the shouldered part 45 of the bell crank is engaged by the vane. Undue rotation of the bell crank 45 is prevented by the` engaging of the under side of the short arm 46 with a ledge 47 provided within the terminal. The depending arm of the bell crank is curved to adapt it for engagement with the side of a carrier which may be inserted into the terminal, while the vane is in like vmanner so shaped that it may substantially lill the space, one wall of which has been designated 48, provided therefor in the inner wall of the terminal and guide the carrier past said space. The Vane 44V may have a buffer button 49 to limit its up- 'i ward vmovement and Vobviate unnecessary.

ynormallyadmits air slowly to the chamber 37, but a button 52 of rubber, or the like,

carried by the center piece 23 may cut oft' part of this admission of air when the piston Y.

is in its uppermost position, if desired. This button also acts as a buifer for the piston upon its upward stroke. p

The' lower end-of the rod 20 is enlarged or headed to adapt it to lift the yoke and thereby the weighted arms 12, when nearing the upper end Vof thestroke of saidrod. Y

The lower end of the cylinder 26 may be closed by a head 53,through the center of which the r0d20 extends and to the underside of which is pivoted a latch 54 which normally engages the freeendof thearm l2, as shown in Fig.v 2, whensaid arm has been elevated by the piston'2l in the manner hereinafter described. :A portion 54. of the Y latch 54 is eXtendedup throughhead 53 into the cylinder and the lower end of the center piece 23 is somewhat pointed to adapt Y. it tov press portion 54 laterally and thereby lift the latch proper when the piston reaches substantially the limit of its downward travel.

Anextending bushing 55 may be secured in lugs 56 which constitute parts of the respective terminal and a square rock shaft 57 isfdisposed in this bushing; the vextremities of the rock shaft being turned and j ournaled in collars or sockets 58mounted upon the respective ends of the bushing; cotter pins 59, ori the like, in the ends of shaft 57 serving to retain the latter together with Y collars 59 in place. The sleevel or bushing 55 is laterally slotted at intervals as at 6() and latches or catches 5l, preferably of sheet metal, are inserted into these slots and are lixedly lmounted uponthe square shaftv 57 so that all of said catches rise Vand fall tro-i.v gether, the slots 60 being of suiiicient length, as shown in Fig. 4, toallow of movement to disengage the latchesfrom thepins 62 with which they may be in engagement.

Each' ofV these pins projects laterally 4.from a weighted arm63'of a bell crank, broadly designated V64, as best shown inV Fig. 3. These bell cranks are rotatably 0mounted upon the rod Vl0, previously referred to, so that. their respective shorter arms 65, (see Figs. Vl and 4), when the weighted or longer arms are not latched up, tend to drive the closures 4 up toward the mouths of the respectivev terminals3; each ofsaid shorter Y arms having a lateral extension 66, which is adapted for engagement with the arm 7 of the corresponding closure. Each latch 6l shaped, as shownin Fig. v4, Vso that when a pin 62 is driven upwardly there-` against, said latch will raise andwill thereby rotate the rock shaft and raise all v'the latches in this group of thesame; the par- Y ticular latch engaged by thevpin'thereafter hooking said pin but the remaining weighted arms 63, in the meantime, having pulled all other pins 62 out of their latching positions so as to leave but one such arm latched up.

The operation of the device is as follows: Normally all tubes l are closed by the covers 4 and the pistons 2l are all in their uppermost positions. Assuming now, that one closure 4 is pulled down by the hand of the operator pressing downwardly upon the extremity Vof an arm or lever `7. Immediately vane 44 is raised by the inrush of the air into tube 1, due to the partial vacuum present in the latter, and the valve 39 drops by gravity; closing the port 38. Suflicient air seeps in through the bleed hole controlled by the adjusting valve 51 to equalize the pressure upon the respective sides of the piston and the latter slowly descends. If no carrier be inserted into the terminal the piston will fall until the rounded lower end of the piston head 23 rocks the latch 54 and thereby releases the weighted arm 12 which falls and closes the door 4. Once the latter has been swung into engagement with theV bell mouth, atmospheric pressure will retain it there. The vane 44 is then free to fall and, in turn, lifts the valve 39 and permits the air in chamber 37 to exhaust out through the space 35, past the adjusting valve 36 into the vacuum main 30. Atmospheric pressure promptly elevates the piston and the parts again occupy their former position. The time taken by the piston to descend determines the time that air shall be admitted freely to a given tube 1, and this portion ofthe apparatus, hence, constitutes a time element means. If a carrier is inserted into the tube 1, before the automatic re-closure of the same, it will press the depending arm of the bell crank 45 laterally, in passing said arm, which momentarily relevates the stem 40 and opens the port 3S. The air which, in the interim, has entered chamber 37 rushes out .and the piston is again elevated.V The insertion of a carrier forces the door 4 open to such an extent as to elevate its weighted closing arm 63 to its latching position whereupon the latch 61 engages the pin car ried by said arm so that nothing tends to re-close the door until the requisite time elapses before the release of thearm 12, as above described. 1f, while one door or closure of a given set or group of inlets is still open, one opens a second door and inserts a second carrier therethrough into a corresponding tube, this action results in rock ing the shaft 57 and unlatches the weighted bell crank 64 which corresponds to the lirst opened door, and thereby promptly closes the latter. rlhus, but one doorin a'group V'that the plurality of terminals or inlets are necessarily side by side or closely adjacent, since various dispositions of these parts and various means for interconnecting them will suggest themselves to those skilled in the art.

@ne other feature remains to be considered. Within the cap 2S is a gripping lever 68 pivoted in front of the rod 40, as atV 69. Rod 40 extends up through an aperture or slot in this lever and the wall of said slot, nearest the pivot 69, is adapted to frictionally grip said rod when the free end of the lever is permitted to drop. The piston head 23 lifts the lever 68 whenever the pis- Y ton is in its uppermost, or substantially its uppermost position, which frees rod 40 from the action of said lever and permits it to drop and close the `port 38 whenever the vane 44 is lifted in the manner previously described. Owing to the gripping action exerted by the lever 68, however, whenever the piston is in other than its uppermost position, the rod 40 when even but momentarily raised, either by the fall of the vane 44 or by the introduction of the carrier into the terminal, will remain raised, leaving the port 38 uncovered until the piston has moved upwardly to the limit of` its travel. This insures that even the lastI one of a plurality of carriers introduced into a given group of terminals shall have its full quota of time for transmission.

It'will be evident, of course, that the rod 40 is not held against upward movement, by the lever 68, but only against downward movement under the conditions described.

In general, it will be observed that I have provided a plurality of substantially independently acting means for closing each closure; one of these means including a. given weight G3 and operating when one closure is opened to unlatch said given weight 68 of the previously opened gate and to allow said weight to thereupon swing said gate to its closed position. The other of said means is the arm 12 with its weights 15 and 16, which when said arm is released by the descent of piston 24, eects the closure of the corresponding gate; the arm 12 of course being again latched up as soon as the piston has risen to its uppermost position.

In asystem of the character to which the present invention more particularly relates it is important that one. *ofV the closures Vbe free to open as soon as the vacuum is broken in the transmission line or lines, as for example, by the opening of a gate for the insertion of the carrier at a distant station, in a manner common in the art; and since there will always be one Weight G3 latched up it is evident that this gate, obviously depending upon `Vwhich one was last operated at the station where the group of inlets is located, will be the one to drop open'assoon as the .pressure of the air upon the respective sides of said gate becomes equalized. Hence, it may be briefly stated that onek of the principal object-s of the present invention has been to provide means for applying force to move any closure which may previously have been opened, to its closed position, as soon as another closure is opened; the force applying means for this last opened closure remaining thereafter substantially inoperative until some other closure has been opened; While a second set of force applying means or elements are controlled by time element mechanism so that after the llapse of a determined interval of time, sub- 4closing one closure in said group when another is opened in excess of a determined amount, and mechanism for causing said last opened closure to move to its closed position thereafter.

2. A pneumatic despatch tube apparatus having a group of inlets each of which is provided with a closure, mechanism for automatically closing one closure in said group when another closure is opened, in excess of a determined amount, and means for normally closing said last opened closure thereafter.

, 3. A pneumatic despatch tube apparatus having a group of inlets each of which is provided with a closure, mechanism for automatically closing one closure in saidV group when a second closure is opened in excess of a determined amount, and pneumatically controlled means for automatically closing said second closure Within a determined interval of time afterthe opening of said second closure. v

4. A pneumatic despatch tube apparatus having a group of inlets each of which is provided With a closure, mechanism for automatically closing one closure in said `group when another closure is opened in excess of a determined amount, and time element means for normally closing said last mentionedclosure thereafter.'

' 5. A pneumatic despatch tubelapparatus" having a group of inlets each of Which isprovided With a V,normally closed closure, Y

straining said movingl means from closing a given closure after the latter has been in-`V tentionally opened in excess of a determined amount, means for rendering inoperative said restraining means When another of saidclosures is opened a determined amount,l andl means for normally closing said l'givenl closure in any case afterthe lapse of a sub-v stantially determined period of time.` p

7. A pneumatic despatch'tube apparatus having a group of inlets each ofvfhich is provided with a normally closed closure, means `for moving said closures from their open toward their closed positions, a latch for restraining said moving means'from closing a given closure after the latter has beenintentionally opened in excess of a` determined amount, and means, including-a second latchV and connections between said;

latches,pfor rendering inoperative said restraining latch when another of said closures is opened a determined amount. l p

8. A' pneumatic despatch tube'Y apparatus having a` group of linlets each orn which is provided With a closure, meansV for moving said closures from their open Ytoward their closed positions, a latch for restraining said moving means `from 'closing a given closure, 115

after the latter has been intentionally opened in excess of a determined amount, meansfor rendering inoperative said restraining latch when another of said closures is opened a de termined amount, and means for thereafter closing said last mentioned closure.

9. A pneumatic despatch tube apparatus inoY havinga group of inlets each of which is provided with a closure, means for moving said closuresfrom their open toward their closed'positions, a latch for restrainingsaid moving means from closing a given closure after the latter has been intentionally` opened in excess of a determined amount, means, including a second latch and rigid conneetionsbetiveen saidl latches, for render ing inoperative said restraininglatch When another of said closures is openeda determined amount, and-auxiliary means for closing said last opened closure. A

10. A pneumatic despatch tube apparatus having a group of inletseach of which is provided with a closure, mechanism for automatically closing one closure in said group whena second closure is opened in excess of a determined amount, said mechanism including an operating arm for each of said closures, each of said arms being movable independently of its closure When the latter is in its closed position, means for automatically closing both of said closures, Within a determined interval of time after the opening of said second closure, said means including operating arms independent of those first mentioned, and a common pivotal shaft for all of said arms.

11. A pneumatic despatch tube apparatus having a group of inlets each of which is provided vvith a closure, and a plurality of substantially independent means for moving each closure of each of said inlets to its operative position, and one of said means for said given closure having an operative connection with one of said means of another closure, whereby when said other closure is opened said given closure is closed.

12. A pneumatic despatch tube apparatus having a group of inlets each of which is provided with a closure, a plurality of Weights for actuating each closure, means for holding said Weights inoperative, Inanually operated means for releasing one Weight of a given closure, and automatic means for releasing another Weight of said closure, each of said independent means for a given closure being adapted to close the latter While leaving another of said independent means for said closure undisturbed, Within a determined period of time after the opening of said closure, if' said manually operated meansbe not actuated before the expiration of said period, said manually operated means of said closure being operatively connected toa corresponding means for another of the closures in said group. o

13. A pneumatic despatch tube apparatus having a group of inlets, closures for said inlets having provisions for causing move- 1 ment thereof into their closed positions,

.means for maintaining open a closure of a given inlet in said group, manually controlled means for causing said last mentioned closure to moveto its closed position upon the opening of another inlet, and automatic means for causing saidV closure to move to its closed position if `it be not manually caused to be closed Within a determined period of time.

14. A pneumatic despatch tube apparatus having a group of inlets, closures for said inlets, means for holding open said closures,

and aV plurality of independently acting means for causing the movement of each of said closures to its operative position, one of said means having provisions for releasing a closure which has been operatively disposed by said last mentioned means from further subjection to such means until said closure has again been opened.

15. A pneumatic despatchV tube apparatus having a group of inlets each in communication With a tube in Which there is normally a partial vacuum, each of said closures normally adapted to be maintained closed by atmospheric pressure When moved to its closed position, said closures having a tendency of themselves to open but having proi visions normally tending to close them, means for restraining said provisions Whereby to maintain any one of said closures in its open position, means for releasing said provisions of said last mentioned closure When another closure in said group is opened, means for normally ultimately clos ing all of said closures which may still be open, and co-acting means for rendering said last mentioned means inoperative thereafter, whereby to thereafter maintain at least one of said closures in its closed position by said atmospheric pressure substantially alone.

16. A pneumatic despatch tube apparatus having a group of inlets each in communication With a tube in Which there is normally a partial vacuum, each of said closures normally adapted to be maintained closed by atmospheric pressure When moved to its closed position, means for closing said closures, means for restraining the closing means of any one of said closures, means for releasing said closing means of said one when another closure in said group is opened, and time-element means for normally ultimately closing all of said closures which may still be open after the lapse of a period determined by said time element means and running from the opening of the last opened .one of said closures.

17. A pneumatic despatch tube apparatus having a group of inlets each incommunication With a tube in Which there is normally a partial vacuum, each of said closures normally adapted to be maintained closed by atmospheric pressure When moved to its closed position, means for closing said closures, means for restraining the closing means of any one of said closures, means for releasing said closing means of said one When another closure in said group is opened, and time-element means for normally ultimately closing all of said closures Which may still be open and thereafter leaving said atmospheric pressure substantially alone to maintain one'of said closures in its closed position.

18. A pneumatic despatch tube apparatus having a group of inlets, closures for said inlets, means for applying force to close an open oneof said closures When another closure in said group Vis opened, means for applying force to close said other closure, thereafter, and means for rendering one of saidl force applying means, substantially inoperative after the closure closed thereby has been moved to its Aclosed position.

19. A pneumatic despatch tube apparatus having a group of inlets, closures for said inlets, means for applying force to close an open one of said closures When another clos- Copies of this patent may be obtained for ure in said group is! opened, means for applying force to olosesaid other closure thereafter, and means for rendering the latter of said force applyingmeans substantially inoperative after theolosure closed thereby has been stion'. e

signature, in the presence of two Witnesses.

CHESTERS. JENNINGS..

Witnesses:

S. B. PITMAN, N. L. DONAHUE.

ve cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of Patents, Washington, 1).,0. l

moved to its closed po.

In testimony whereof- I have aiiiXed lmy' 

